Naomi Schiff has told Sergio Perez to not ‘go over the edge’ in the Emilia Romagna GP after hearing rumours about the Mexican’s contract at Red Bull in the Imola paddock.
The Sky Sports pundit fears the 34-year-old now faces a ‘tough’ race this Sunday after his disappointing qualifying performance. Perez bowed out in Q2 after setting the 11th-fastest lap time with a 1:15.706. Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen secured pole with a 1:14.746.
Verstappen also posted a 1:15.176 to top the timesheet for Q2 holding a huge 0.530-second margin over Perez. The Dutchman even held a 0.642s margin over his teammate in Q1 when Perez ranked in just 12th place. Red Bull saw both of their drivers get into Q2 by only 0.222s.
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez faces a ‘tough’ Emilia Romagna GP from 11th on the grid
Schiff now expects Perez will face a ‘tough’ Emilia Romagna GP as the Red Bull driver tries to recover from P11. The ex-W Series driver particularly expects the six-time Grand Prix winner will struggle to get through the McLaren and Ferrari drivers with them looking fast at Imola.
McLaren saw Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris claim the second and third-fastest times in Q3. Ferrari also ended qualifying in P4 and P5 as Charles Leclerc edged Carlos Sainz. Both Visa Cash App RB stars, Yuki Tsunoda in P7 and Daniel Ricciardo in P9, even out-qualified Perez.
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Schiff told Sky Sports F1 (18/5, 16:20): “It’s going to be a tough day for him. You’ve got some quick cars in front of them and the problem is not just that he’s qualified out of position, it’s that the margins are so fine.
“Those McLarens are really quick [and] the Ferraris have proven to be quick this weekend. So, he’s going to have a lot of work ahead of him tomorrow with only one DRS zone at a track that doesn’t allow for much overtaking.”
Naomi Schiff fears Sergio Perez going ‘over the edge’ right after getting ‘off the hook’
Schiff believes Perez must now get his head in order ahead of the Emilia Romagna GP to not ruin the momentum he has built this season. The Guadalajara native is still fighting to clinch a new contract at Red Bull. His current deal lapses at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Perez merited widespread doubt regarding his future in Milton Keynes throughout the 2023 season. His hopes of fighting Verstappen for the title fell apart after failing to win the Miami GP from pole position. But Perez has been solid in 2024 with three P2s and a P3 in six races.
Schiff has even suggested the murmurs in the F1 paddock at the Emilia Romagna GP hint to Red Bull giving Perez a new contract if he maintains his steady results. So, it will be crucial to not let his poor qualifying make for a bad race, having only just got ‘off the hook’ after 2023.
She added: “I think he’s been off the hook a little bit this year because, at the end of last year, he was really very much under pressure. People [were] doubting whether he was going to keep his seat at Red Bull. Whereas, the start of this season has been a lot cleaner for him.
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“It’s sort of been the sentiment that people are sort of quite confident that he’ll keep his seat. So, hopefully, he doesn’t go over the edge here and put himself under too much pressure. He just needs to pick them [off] one at a time. It’s a long race.”
Red Bull will certainly want to see Perez bounce back in qualifying for the Monaco GP in two weeks’ time. It was on the streets of the Principality after his disappointing Miami GP where Perez’s 2023 fell apart. He crashed in Q1 and then failed to make Q3 at the next four events.
The post ‘Hopefully’: Schiff warns F1 driver ‘off the hook’ to not ‘go over the edge’ in Imola GP appeared first on F1 Oversteer.